Attend Bandra's Zine pop-up of published works by Indian, international artists

May 17, 2018, 07:49 IST | Romila Padhi

A classic example of this is zines, small, art-heavy pieces of literature that are published independently, often through a photocopier

Himanghsu S and Aqui Thami

DIY forms of publishing now co-exist comfortably with conventional forms. A classic example of this is zines, small, art-heavy pieces of literature that are published independently, often through a photocopier.

This weekend, Bombay Underground (BU), a city-based initiative for art, expression and creative social exchange, which has been making zines and organising zine pop-ups and workshops for more than 15 years, is organising a pop-up in Bandra. The event will feature 50 to 60 zines from both international and Indian contributors, most of which will be on sale for around `100 to `400 each. The pop-up will also have zines made at the Dharavi Art Room, an organisation that uses the medium of art to empower children and women of marginalised communities. The topics that the zines cover the range from feminism, comics, children's literature to personal essays.

"Zine pop-ups are a great place to learn something new and connect with local makers through the sharing of ideas and stories," says Himanghsu S, who co-founded BU along with Aqui Thami. BU also hosted the first Bombay zine fest last year, which has travelled to Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa, Pune and Kochi.

Himangshu believes that independent publishing is a fit response to publishing houses and bookstores that either turn a blind eye to specific kinds of literature or deliberately exclude such materials. "And this is why, it is an important tool for preserving freedom of expression," he concludes.